Conquer Rome
Conquer Rome depicts the fall of the Roman empire as it came under pressure from Germanic invadors, eastern invadors(like Atilla the Hun) and migrating tribes fleeing hunnic ruthlessness. At the time the Roman empire had already broken into 2 pieces. The Western Roman empire with Rome at its center and the Eastern Roman Empire(later known as the the Byzantine empire) with Constantinople at its center. Rome eventually fell in 493 and Consantinople in 1453. The map holds many special gameplay and can therefor be regarded as one of the most complex maps on CC. I would not recommend this map for newbies, but if you do try this out be aware it may take you several games to figure it out entirely and have everything sink in. That being said, I highly suggest you try it out. It's an extremely fun map once you get the hang of it and more so than most maps, it is very balanced as well. Kabanellas truely made a masterpiece when he designed this map. Map info Attack routes :*Legionairs are important. They can attack any land in their region and can bombard adjacent tribal outposts. For instance TII(Bulgaria) can attack all dark green territories belonging to the T-region(Constantinople-region) and can bombard Hunni outpost. :*seats only attack in 1 direction(capitals > capital seats => praetors > augustus) :*praetors bombard any legion or capital in their region :*augustus can attack any capital(circles) or legion(soldiers) on its side of the map and can attack all tribes on his side(west augustus > 4 western tribes, east augustus > 4 eastern tribes) Bonuses *tribes auto +2, tribe outpost auto +1 *legions auto +1 *+1 for holding both imperial capitals(Rome and Constantinople) *vicarious seat of regional capital + 2 areas in region = +1 *vicarious seat of regional capital + 4 areas in region= +2 *vicarious seat of regional capital + 6 areas in region= +3 *vicarious seat auto +1 *praetor seat + 4 areas in region= +1 *preator seat + 8 areas in region= +2 *praetor seat + 12 areas in region= +3 *augustus seat + regional capital= +1 *augustus seat + legion(on its side of the map)= +1 *augustus + imperial capital(on its side of the map)= +1 *augustus + 1 tribe on(on its side of the map)= -3 IMPORTANT FOR THOSE WHO ARE NEW TO MAP: There is no region-count bonus if you don't hold any seats! This is a map where you'll have no other choice but to attack neutrals in the early game. Settings Recommendations The most important setting for Conquer Rome, and I presume the most popular one, is 'no spoils'. The map can of course be played with other spoils. But if you're actually determined to learn the map, you can do naught but pick this. It is also the best setting to show off your skills once you've become an expert in it and wish to play clanwars on the map. Personally I also think this is an excellent map for 8-player multiplayer games. Even if you have a bad start, you will still hold your tribe and be able to live until mid-game, therefor providing you with a second chance. Due to the map lay-out and the objectives, it is also diplomacy-intensive map. Making a truce with a neighbour at the start of the game can be extremely advantageous on this map. Just make sure to make clear whether preatorean and augustus seats are included in the truce, and keep an eye on objectives. Manual deployment The big difference with other maps is that taking enemy territories to drop their territory count is useless at the start of the game. If you start first, try to grab bonuses , kick your enemy away bonus regions if possible but retain some minor defenses. If you are second you can try and balance yourself between taking bonuses and breaking your enemy's bonuses if you've succesfully figured out where he's made camp. Freestyle Overall, Conquer Rome isn't much different from other maps when it comes to freestyle. Just make sure to pay double attention to objectives as freestyle will make it easier to obtain them. It is not unusual in a multiplayer game for people to forget about objectives. Flat rate, no spoils The map works perfectly on these settings. Just keep building up your bonuses and make sure you have enough defenses as well. Escalating In escalating you need to watch out for a couple of things: *Augustus seat: The only way to effectively eliminate someone is to pass through an augustus seat and overtake their tribes. This makes both Augustus seats chokepoints on the map, easily blocked. But be aware that blocking access may also result in making yourself a target. *Legions and praetorian seats: They offer vision and mobility and are thus paramount in escalating. Zombie, nuclear I would discourage using these settings, Due to the many autodeploys on the map, lucky cards can easily take out very large armies and get rid of your tribal refuge. Reinforcements There's not much the say about this. The rules of most other maps equally apply here. If you're playing unlimited, you'll have an easy time reinforcing your autodeploys to your borders. If you're playing adjacent, be aware that Augustus seats and legions can provide extra mobility. Fog I love fog on Conquer Rome. Objectives are very important in fog games. Many experienced players will try and take them in the hope other players won't notice. Trench This is a loved setting for some experienced players in clanwars. Not every Conquer Rome player plays trench and so it can provide that extra edge you need in your teamgames. Obviously more than in 'no trench' it is important to eliminate your enemies behind you and to hold Legions. Once again objectives can be very important here as well as it becomes more difficult to break someone's objectives once they hold them. Basic gameplay First 2 turns(not team/poly) Whatever the settings the first 2-3 turns are almost always the same. *Before 1st turn: Identify where you're most likely to take a bonus. An important detail is the vicarious bonus, you receive +1 per 2 territories in its zone and an extra +1 autodeploy on the vicarious seat itself. For this reason you should search the map for zones where you hold the capital and at least one additional territory, the more the better. These regions are suitable in obtaining the maximum bonus possible early game. If you have no such zones, or have an excess in options, keep in mind the tribes. If you border one of your own tribes(or your teammate's), you could refuel yourself after a while. But if an enemy tribe lurs in your back, you have an increased chance of losing that bonus on the long run. Some zones hold no bordering tribe at all. *1st turn: If you have many optional zones to obtain bonuses, I like to drop one troop on every one of their capitals and attempt to take the vicarious seats. If you're lucky you can end up with a +3 bonus after one turn, if you're less lucky let's hope you'll at least obtain one bonus. It's a good way of spreading your chances/risks, just as when you would drop 1 on a stack of 3 to weaken an enemy. When having few options, you can permit yourself to drop everything on just one capital. In the unfortunate event of having no 2-territory zone with a capital, just drop everything where you think is best to capture the capital. Whatever you do, do not drop your troops on your tribes, it's a waste of troops. *2nd turn: Starting your second turn you can choose to continue expanding your bonus(especially in multiplayer), choose to break your enemies bonuses(if you had a good first turn and if it's a team/poly/1v1 game), or a mix between the two. Whatever you do, make sure to not forget to take your outposts from your tribes. I've seen even the most experienced players forget this. *later turns: Keep building up and assaulting your enemy. Important notes :*Read the log: On this map it is extremely important to read the log, especially in team games and polymorphic games. It helps you to know which bonuses your enemy holds and if you see -3's appearing in his log you'll know he holds an augustus seat and more than one tribe on that side of the map. :*Tribes: Don't forget to take your outposts on your 2nd turn :*Vicarious seats: It can be very helpful to keep some troops on your vicarious seats to prevent your enemies to take your bonuses. If they attack you, they might break your bonus, but it becomes less likely they'll have expanded their own.(unless they're holding Augustus, praetorean seats or taken a legion for the +1 auto) :*Expanding bonuses: To expand your bonuses try to take at least two territories each time. A vicarious seat only gives +1 per two territories in it's zone. Also be aware that taking a vicarious seat while only holding one territory in the zone doesn't expand your turnly drop. :*Breaking bonuses: Conversely when breaking bonuses, either scour your enemy out of the zone completely(vicarious not included per sé) or leave them with an uneven number of territories there. Oft times I ignore vicarious seats for a while and just try to take their territories when breaking bonuses. Just like in King's Court 2, your vicarious seats can't take back their capitals. :*Keep an enemy in your zone: Sometimes it can be helpful to keep an enemy territory within your zone if that territory borders neighbouring zones. This way you can stack on your autodeploy legion. Once ready you can take the enemy territory and proceed to the neighbouring zone. An example would be to stack on AFIII(carthage) and leave your enemy the territory AEI. Once you've stacked enough you attacke AEI from AFIII and proceed into Egypt. When attacking you might want to watch out when moving into enemy territory as he might use the same tactic. :*Negative bonus Augustus: You receive a -3 per tribe once you hold more than one tribe on the side of your Augustus seat. For example if you hold Eastern Augustus, Ostrogothi, Visigothi and Hunni; you'll receive three time -3. Do the math at how much your Augustus seat gives you every turn and in case of a deficit you might have to consider giving up the Augustus seat to someone else(preferrably your teammates of course). :*Bombing outposts: When bombing outposts with nearby legions, be careful that you don't facilitate movement of enemy stacks in tribes. 1v1 Just as in other maps bad early dice can ruin your game. For this reason I advise you to pick poly over 1v1. Because you start with so many territories, you'll have a multitude of options to expand your bonuses. In 1v1, more so than in other gametypes, it is important to break your enemy's bonuses early on. As players often concentrate on a specific region of the map, you can move on to Preatorean seats much faster than you can in any other game type. Multiplayer As mentioned before, this map is perfect for multiplayer games. If you have a bad early turns, your tribe can always still provide you with a second chance to redeem yourself. Certain elements of importance: *Be careful taking praetorean seats and Augustus seats. Other players will have taken vicarious seats as well. Higher level seats are often an incessant battle for bonuses, vision and mobility. Make sure you prepare the necessary defensive contingencies when moving on. *In the early game it is not very important to break bonuses, unlike 1v1, so just try to calmly expand your bonuses. *Diplomacy is extremely important on Conquer Rome multiplayer games. With mounting autodeploy legions, tensions along borders can easily strain. Even if you don't like truces, be aware that this map is prone to drive people into that direction. For this reason I like to make truce with one neighbour early game on, so I can focus on one flank and disregard my back. *Always pay attention to the other side of the map. It would not be unusual for people to still fight it out on one side and have another player dominate the other side. If you act too late, Conquer Rome can be a very difficult map to save your ass. *Unless you invite people along, it's pretty much guaranteed that every multiplayer game will have a mix of both experienced players and newbies who have no idea what they're doing. Identify who fits where. Terminator and Assassin Overall gameplay for terminator and assassin are not that special. You play terminator as you would standard, with the obvious difference of trying to eliminate someone. As for assassin, I'd play it very much like I would escalating in the sense that you need to gain vision and mobility. Even for assassin it is vital to build up bonuses. Teamgames and polymorphic games Contrary to many other maps, in Conquer Rome you don't immediately try to eliminate one player. On this map, you need to seek bonus expansion first. Some remarks: *Team games are usually always among experienced players. The map is highly popular so every clan usually has at least one Conquer Rome player. *As mentioned before, but more so than in other gametypes, keep an eye on the log! I can't stress this enough, a team that does not read the log usually ends up losing the game. *Most of the time you can ignore Praetorean seats and Augustus seats. Unless people are certain they can hold onto the Praetorean, or lose and re-take it immediately, people aren't inclined to take them. There is a very good reason for that: neutrals can hurt. However, that being said, if you do succeed in taking one and holding on to one, it will offer a very strong advantage. *It's less advantageous than in other maps to just stack everything on one player. The map is fractured among so many bonus zones that it's hardly viable. This is however circumstantial. *Just as in 1v1, it is vital to break enemy bonuses early on. Finish off your enemy If you've already won the game and you just need to play out your turns, the easiest way to finish him off is by grabbing victory objectives.